Combining Technology, Education, and Human Connection to Improve Online Learning
MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) Fellow Caitlin Morris, an architect, artist, researcher, and educator with a background in psychology, is dedicated to enhancing digital learning platforms. Her approach combines technology, education, and human connection, driven by her observations and community engagement.
Growing up in rural upstate New York, Morris developed a passion for making from a young age. She honed skills in sewing, cooking, and woodworking, and later turned to online communities to learn coding. These project-based platforms, where individuals share solutions and code, provided her with a transformative learning experience outside traditional computer science classrooms.
“For me, that was this huge, wake-up moment of feeling like there was a path to expression that was not a traditional computer-science classroom,” she says. “I think that’s partly why I feel so passionate about what I’m doing now. That was the big transformation: having that community available in this really personal, project-based way.”
Morris actively contributes to community-based learning as a co-organizer of the MIT Media Lab’s Festival of Learning, leads creative coding meetups, and participates in open-source software development.
“My years of organizing learning and making communities — both in person and online — have shown me firsthand how powerful social interaction can be for motivation and curiosity,” Morris said. “My research is really about identifying which elements of that social magic are most essential, so we can design digital environments that better support those dynamics.”
Her artistic endeavors include collaborations on large art installations using movement, sound, imagery, and lighting to create immersive experiences that evoke nature, promoting focus and calm.
Morris’s background includes a BS in psychology and architectural building sciences from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an MFA in design and technology from Parsons School of Design at The New School. She has taught design and coding at various educational levels, driven by her understanding that traditional learning methods don’t suit every student.
“I think what kind of got me hooked on teaching was that the way I learned as a child was not the same as in the classroom,” Morris explains. “And I later saw this in many of my students. I got the feeling that the normal way of learning things was not working for them. And they thought it was their fault. They just didn’t really feel welcome within the traditional education model.”
Morris focuses on the emotional and personal aspects of online and AI-assisted learning for her doctoral work with the MIT Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces Group. Her research aims to integrate AI-driven behavioral analysis with human expertise to study social learning dynamics.
“I’m developing a framework that combines AI-driven behavioral analysis with human expert assessment to study social learning dynamics,” she says. “My research investigates how social interaction patterns influence curiosity development and intrinsic motivation in learning, with particular focus on understanding how these dynamics differ between real peers and AI-supported environments.”
Her research seeks to identify which elements of social interaction cannot be replaced by AI tutors, with the goal of developing a prototype experiential learning platform. She uses tools that track observable behaviors and capture learners’ subjective experiences to bridge the gap between efficient digital platforms and engaging in-person interactions.
“I aim to make two primary contributions: first, analysis tools for studying social learning dynamics; and second, prototype tools that demonstrate practical approaches for supporting social curiosity in digital learning environments. These contributions could help bridge the gap between the efficiency of digital platforms and the rich social interaction that occurs in effective in-person learning.”
Morris’s objectives align perfectly with the MIT MAD Fellowship, which promotes creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration to prepare students for real-world challenges. She aims to assist community organizations in navigating the rapid changes in AI-powered education, addressing the balance between physical and virtual learning spaces.
